Elizabeth L. King must have felt utterly astonished when she received a letter from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) inquiring about military benefits for Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Somehow Spencer Ackerman from Wired just got hold of McConnell’s letter to the assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, in which he forwarded concerns expressed by one of his constituents. Turns out, the constituent had gotten his information from the Duffel Blog — the military’s satirical news site — which ran an article titled “Guantanamo Prisoners To Receive GI Bill Benefits” back in October.

The article was meant to lambaste the Obama administration (these conservative military folks blame everything on President Barack Obama instead of where it rightfully belongs — on their idol, George W. Bush) for delays. And, as Ackerman points out, the humor wasn’t even particularly subtle, and included a fake quote from a fictitious Pentagon spokesman stating, ““By allowing the detainees to use the Department of Veterans Affairs, we hope to completely crush their souls with bureaucracy.”

It’s not surprising that a conservative constituent of McConnell’s would be easily bamboozled, but you’d think someone from McConnell’s office in Washington, DC would have quickly figured out the satirical nature of this humorous ‘news report.’ Then again, McConnell and his fellow Republicans have never been known for their sense of humor.

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA – In a controversial move praised by the international community as a promotion of human rights, the Department of Defense has begun allowing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to seek Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. While these benefits have traditionally been restricted to veterans of the United States Military to use in pursuit of a degree, the Pentagon has seen fit to begin allowing GTMO prisoners to enroll in the program.

DoD Spokesman Wesley Manheim said that it was all a matter of fairness.

I couldn’t find any reference to the article searching the DoD website nor in searching the web in general except for the article found on Duffel Blog.